backwater blues texture backwater blues texture
The three most important chords, built off the 1st, 4th and 5th scale degrees are all major . The a rhyme glues the three-line stanza together. The vocalization stands out far more than the sound of the instruments, primarily due to Smiths incredible voice. Hooktheory requires WebAudio and this browser doesn't support it. Back-Water Blues, composed by Bessie Smith and recorded by her on 17 February 1927, has long been associated in the popular mind and even by some writers with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River and its tributaries that occurred that year. In "Backwater Blues", the writer retells the incidents surrounding the flooding of Nashville in 1927. What are the introductory chords that illustrate this? The third-sixth verses have the traditional AAB blues pattern, which helps emphasize what she is saying during each verse. Lyrics powered by www.musixmatch.com. In terms of chords and melody, Backwater Blues is more complex than the typical song, having above average scores in Chord Complexity, Melodic Complexity, Chord-Melody Tension and Chord Progression Novelty. Marilyn Chin (1955- ) was born in Hong Kong, grew up in Oregon, and received her MFA from the University of Iowa. Este es un disco muy bueno; una gran voz, la Reina del Blues Dinah Washington, y unos temas espectaculares, las canciones de la gran Bessie Smith. This personal depression by extension is about the depression of an entire people, marginalized in the back waters, stricken with poverty, homelessness, suffering social injustice, discrimination, and now hit with this catastrophic natural disaster. Mmm, I can't move no more. The piece has a homophonic texture due to the supplementation of the instruments to the vocalization of Smith. Back-Water Blues. There's thousands of people ain't got no place to go. Big Bill Broonzy released it on the album Folk Blues in 1954. The piano's bass part keeps the rhythm of the piece steady but when doing the 'response', the right hand can complicate this and create interest. The initial first line resoundstherefore necessitates itself perhaps as a question, a declaration, or even a second guessing of this sung things existence to its audience of many or just their self. Smith performed for nearly a decade until Columbia Records signed her in 1923. Billed annually at $39.99. "When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (x2) There's trouble taking place in the lowland that night." Harmonically, what is the piece based on? Discuss Bessie Smith's performance of "Back Water Blues" as an example of both. Each verse in the song follows an AAB pattern from beginning to end. SKU: MN0121681 This suggests to me that aspects of contemporary US poetry could be in lineage of African diasporic culture. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Smith, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM, https://www.rockhall.com/inductees/bessie-smith, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go6TiLIeVZA, 1980: Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, 1989: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1989: Received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1994: Face was placed upon a US Postage Stamp, 2001: Down Hearted Blues was named one of the Songs of the Century by the National Endowment for the Arts, 2002: Down Hearted Blues was listed on the National Recording Preservation Board by the Library of Congress, 2006: Down Hearted Blues listed in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Backwater blues done called me to pack my things and go. The words vary from one performer to another; this opening verse is representative: When it rains five days, and the skies turn dark as night (2) The beginning of Down Hearted Blues actually reminded me of Ragtime music slightly. The song has long been associated with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River in 1927. The piece uses syncopation to allow variation between the instruments and the vocals. Bessie Smith had a powerful impact on future blues and Rock and Roll singers, like Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, and Janis Joplin. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. Baraka attributes this knowledge to his mentor Sterling A. The despair is deep, is deeply personal, but it is also metaphorical and speaks to the despair of an entire community. Notice, however, that although the form remains the same throughout, pianist James P. Johnson's accompaniment style frequently changes during different verses of the song, as he interacts musically with Smith and attempts to depict the meaning of her lyrics through his playing.\r\rBessie Smith (vocal); James P. Johnson (piano)\r\rRecorded in New York, February 17, 1927 Bemoaning the fate of losing a home to flood waters after five days and nights of rain, Smith laments: Thousands of people aint got no place to go. While many latter-day listeners have equated this song with the disastrous 1927 flood of the Mississippi River, Smith actually recorded this before that particular flood had occurred. Of course, I learn so much from the Bessie Smiths blues poems. We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. I mean, first, it sets up a terrible storm when it rained five days and the skies turned dark as night, when it rained five days and the skies turned dark as night. The song is called "West End Blues" and was recorded by Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five in 1928. Smith . The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. Once more, listen for the turnaround (the melody at the final two bars of each 12-bar progression or last line of each stanza) and hear it transform the melody of one progression/stanza into the next. Please use a recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, or Opera instead. Lets look at this poem closely. 'Back-Water Blues', composed by Bessie Smith and recorded by her on 17 February 1927, has long been associated in the popular mind and even by some writers with the great flood of the lower Mississippi River and its tributaries that occurred that year. Smith did not cut any corners in her songs- she told everyone how the world really was and how she felt about it. Backwater Blues is written in the key of E Major. However, I recommend practicing the classic form (first line repeated in the second line, third line responds to the second, entire poem at least three tercets long) to fully grasp blues aesthetics. Entire black neighborhoods were wiped out. The lyrics of the song are interpreted with respect to the events of that flood. Photo credit: Carl Van Vechten, Celebrating Contemporary Books & Writers at the Library, From the Catbird Seat: The official Poetry and Literature podcast, Receive notifications about events, activities, and online resources, Marilyn Chin reads and discusses Bessie Smith's "Backwater Blues", Rhapsody in plain yellow, by Marilyn Chin, Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. Following her death, Smith received numerous awards and honors for her achievements, including: Bessie Smith- American Singer. Encyclopedia Britannica, written by The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, 22 Feb 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bessie-Smith. Total loading time: 0 Mchtest du Inhalte von aktivieren? Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like backwater blues, libretto, step interval and more. It was originally composed by Joe "King" Oliver and is largely performed as an instrumental, although lyrics were . Its musical composition entered the public domain on January 1, 2023. [3] However, that flood was at its worst some two months after the song was written. Bessie Smith's Back-Water Blues: the story behind https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261143007001158, Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. Hostname: page-component-75b8448494-knlg2 Considering these notes about the blues inception, the blues endured and scoredif not directly then through derived musical formsthe majority of the United States early nation-building and cultural formation. Mmm, I cant move no more. I see myself as an activist Chinese American poet, and I want to show the multiple sides of my literary inheritance. Back-Water Blues' was one of the best known works of the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 with James P. Johnson on piano. } This is historically problematical because that flood began two months after Smith recorded her song. Harmonically, what is the piece based on? Backwater Blues tells the story of how the speaker is forced out of her home due to flooding waters. The first two lines are of almost equal length. The backwater blues caused me. Hi! The opening choruses of each performance . She made almost 200 recordings, including duets with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith. 04 January 2007. Updated September 9, 2020. "it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night". Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. When it thunders and lightnin' and the wind begin to blow. They relocated the white folks in an expedient manner but corralled the black folks into abysmal camps. I think in the best identity poems that the self represents something much larger than the self. Of course, we Americans have historical amnesia. The conjunct melody made me want to sing along with her! Although Smith is very pleasing to the ears, she seems to be slightly monotone in this piece. :)---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Title: Backwater BluesLevel: BeginnerCom. Most of us dont remember the great Mississippi River Flood of 1927, but when I read this poem a few years ago during a gathering on the behalf of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the same issues resoundedneighborhoods destroyed, slow government response, the African American neighborhoods were hit the hardest. Content may require purchase if you do not have access. Death. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Bessie and Me). The beat does . Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. We were grounded by Amiri Barakas claim in Blues People, in which he conveyed that in the context of Black American culture, music explains history as history explains music. Back-Water Blues was one of the best known works of the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 with James P. Johnson on piano. Great cover of blues classic Backwater blues on The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band 2011. album How I Go [Verse 5] And I went . The lyrics are in the often-used AAB blues format. The consonant chords allow for a smooth harmony to flow continuously during the song. Alle Informationen dazu findest du in unseren Nonetheless, when she recorded it in 1927 "Backwater Blues" became an anthem for the great Mississippi River Flood. Bemoaning the fate of losing a home to flood waters after five days and nights of rain, Smith laments: 'Thousands of people ain't got no place to go.'. Chris Fisher-Lochhead. When it rained five days and the sky turned dark as night, Zur deutschen bersetzung von Backwater Blues, Die 10 schnsten Songs fr ein gemtliches Picknick, Die 10 beliebtesten ESC-Songs aller Zeiten, "Sing meinen Song" 2023: Alle Infos, Teilnehmer, Songs & Folgen, "Let's Dance 2023": Alle Tnze aus Show 9 + Songtexte, I'd Rather Be Dead and Buried in My Grave, Udo Lindenberg & Apache 207 - Komet Songtext, Ikke Hftgold, Schrze & DJ Robin - Bumsbar Songtext, Purple Disco Machine & Kungs - Substitution Songtext, Hypaton, David Guetta & La Bouche - Be My Lover (feat. There is one integral line throughout the stanza. This piece draws its material from the song "Backwater Blues" by Bessie Smith and from the historically articulated performance practice that has accrued to it. Published online by Cambridge University Press: Bessie Smith- Back Water Blues. Youtube, uploaded by TravelerIntoTheBlue, 9 Oct 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gXShOJVwaM. Known as the\"Empress of the Blues,\" Bessie Smith's first recording, \"Down-Hearted Blues,\" from 1923, was very successful, and helped her to become the leading African-American performer of the time. View all Google Scholar citations I cant do justice to this poem, to Backwater Blues, by just reciting it myself. The song "Backwater Blues" is a blues and jazz standard written by Bessie Smith. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) began her professional career as a blues singer in cabarets in 1912. In this blog post I am going to be looking at and analysing a track by famous New Orleans jazz musician, Louis Armstrong. The song has a homophonic texture due to the use of instruments and vocalization in unison. Borrowing from song to write about whats wrong. The flood was a devastating ordeal. 15Label: Route 16Year: 1990This CD is from my own collection. ). For examples of innovative uses of these devices in poetry, visit Jericho Browns Duplex, Evie Shockleys Fukushima Blues, and Kevin Youngs Langston Hughes.. Adds to the blues feel as the music is seen to reflect the realities of her situation. hasContentIssue false. Major keys, along with minor keys, are a common choice for popular songs. Second, the first published blues composition is accredited to W.C. Handys Memphis Blues in 1912. Bessie Smith recorded Backwater Blues in 1927, and it became an anthem for one of the most devastating national disasters in US history. for this article. Another way of reading classic blues lyric structure is as weighted-sonic couplets. Almost a million people became homeless for a time. She is the author of three collections of poems, most recently Rhapsody in Plain Yellow (2002). He studied under Seamus Heaney and Lucie Brock-Broido at Harvard University and, while a student there, became a member of the Dark Room African diasporic culture and the aesthetics of the blues. The rhythm and beat remain constant throughout the song. A modified 12 bar blues. Sheet music arranged for Piano/Vocal/Guitar in C Major (transposable). Smith is believed to be one of the highest paid black performers of her time. The flood was a devastating ordeal. Bessie actually wrote Backwater Blues for the Cumberland River flood that hit Nashville on Christmas morning 1926. Backwater Blues gefllt bisher niemandem. Smith (on vocal with James P. Johnson on piano) recorded it as "Back-water Blues" on February 17, 1927, in New York City. 7 available keys. "useRatesEcommerce": false Through an examination of Smith's touring itinerary, the testimony of fellow entertainers who toured . She lets the chords of the instruments dangle off of her words, resulting in a beautiful piece that focuses primarily on the lyrics. It was written by Bessie Smith, and recorded (under the title ".
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